I’m going to Disneyland!

First things first. I’ve been back from Overload for 3 weeks now and it was sooooo much fun. I think it’s very quickly becoming my favorite New Zealand convention. It was also my first time entering their cosplay competition since 2016. I’ve meant to enter it again for the longest time but the changed one of the entry criteria which means your costume has to have Japanese origins and as we all know, my knowledge on Japanese media is very limited. But as this is now one of the few remaining cosplay competitions in New Zealand ( and making costumes for competitions is what I love), I decided to remake my first ever cosplay from 2008 – Cardcaptor Sakura.

All of the competitors in the Overload cosplay competition 2024. Photo by APG.

The contest itself was incredibly well run and the judges were very friendly. I highly encourage anyone to enter it, I know I will be next year. I placed second in the construction category and had an absolute blast.

On the Sunday I had a much more chill time. I dressed as Sailor Jupiter and had a mini group with Sophia and her daughter as Neptune and Chibi Moon. (I also made their costumes). I promise write ups/videos of the making of process is coming soon. I’m just so tired from pumping out all these costumes in the time I did.

After coming home from con, I had a friend ask if I would be able to make them an Ash Ketchum shirt for their upcoming birthday party. No rest for me! I made it from 100% cotton and he loves it! I’m also in the process of making a Barry, Snorlax and Nurse Joy for my husband, our other friend and myself so look out for those next week.

Speaking of things with an incredibly short deadline, on May 2nd my friend Anna asked if I would do some advertising for Sandbox Fandom Fest on May 4th dressed as Star Wars characters (it being Star Wars day after all). She asked if I would wear my Queen Amidala gown but I told her it’s super uncomfortable to wear for a long period of time and it’s also currently missing the eggs along the bottom. She then suggested I make a Leia in a day and me being insane enough, agreed. Here is the Princess Leia gown I made in 1 day. Obviously it’s not perfect but it got the job done!

Just to change up my current costume plans even further, my mum asked if I would go to Disneyland with her and my cousins in September. We’ll be there during Halloween season and are hoping to get to go to Oogie Boogie Bash for which I need a costume. I did a poll on my Instagram between Giselle from Enchanted and Tim Burton’s Alice and Alice won by a tiny margin so she’s now adde to the list!